Reply #18: It is frequently in the nature of children

[lapislzi]

To find someone lower down on the food chain to look down on, brutalize, terrorize, or torment. Hell, strike that. Adults do it with equal frequency, and it's far less excusable. Strike again. It's completely inexcusable in adults.

I am deeply ashamed of the lack of empathy I displayed as a teenager. Despite being pretty far down the pecking order, I and others on my low rung of the ladder still managed to find a girl worse off than ourselves. Although it's not in my nature to commit any kind of violence, I was pretty mean to her. Why? Because I *could* be. I also learned that acting mean to someone worse off than you doesn't improve your situation in the slightest.

If she's reading this, I hope she knows I'm sorry, and I hope that she has a good life now. She didn't deserve to be everyone's whipping girl.